Flint Generals (1993–2010)
The Flint Generals were a professional ice hockey team based in Flint, Michigan. They were a member of the International Hockey League and played their home games at Perani Arena and Event Center in Flint, Michigan. In June 2010, the team announced it would fold.http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20100617/SPORTS0601/306179971/1210/SPORTS06 Flint has been home to minor pro hockey in some incarnation since 1969, except a one year break in the 1990–91 season. The modern Flint Generals came about in the 1993–94 season after Flint Bulldogs owner Skip Probst moved the Bulldogs from Flint to Utica, New York. The following summer, Dr. Khaled M. Shukairy was granted an expansion franchise to play in Flint. After a fan vote, "Generals" had been voted on by the fans to be the name of the current franchise. Since their inception in 1993, Flint has won two Colonial Cup championships, the first against the Thunder Bay Senators in the 1995–96 season, in which the Generals claimed the Colonial Cup in a six game upset where the Generals won the final game by a score of 9–0. This team included such players as Kevin Kerr, who would later break the all time minor league hockey scoring record and coach the Generals, Robin Bouchard, who was traded early the next season in a lopsided trade that did not favor the Generals, Andrei Mezin, the goalie who would go on to play for his native Belarus in the olympics and upset Sweden, and female goaltender, Erin Whitten. The second Colonial Cup came in a 4–0 sweep of the Generals arch rival, the Quad City Mallards in 2000. The 2000 Flint Generals were coached by former NHLer Doug Shedden and included former Toronto Maple Leaf Bobby Reynolds, former Detroit Red Wing Mark Major, former Edmonton Oiler Nick Stajuhar, two 100 point scorers in Ross Wilson and Don Parsons, UHL Defenseman of the Year Gary Roach, high flying late season additions Cory Cyrenne and Vladmir Serov, and goalie Mark Richards. Serov and Cyrenne totaled 60 points in 37 regular season games, and in the 2000 finals, Serov scored the game winning goal with 50 seconds left in game three, and the game winning goal with 3:52 left in game four to preserve the victories for the Generals. After several years of mediocre hockey and questionable ownership, the Generals finished the 2009-10 season on a hot streak, clinching the final Turner Cup playoff berth on the final day of the season. The Generals faced the Muskegon Lumberjacks in Round One of the Turner Cup Playoffs, and after falling behind 3-1, came back to win the series in seven. The Generals then fell to the Fort Wayne Komets in a competitive five-game series. The Generals only win in the series was a thrilling 7-6 overtime win in Game 3. Despite the surprising turnaround in 2009-10 and rumors of more stable ownership taking over, the Generals folded when Perani Arena management decided to give the arena lease to the Michigan Warriors of the North American Hockey League. Championships Flint hockey history * Flint Generals, International Hockey League (1969–85) * Flint Spirits, International Hockey League (1985–90) * Flint Bulldogs, Colonial Hockey League (1991–93) * Flint Generals, Colonial Hockey League (1993–97), United Hockey League (1997–07), International Hockey League (2007–10) Season-by-season results Legend: OTL=Overtime loss, SOL=Shootout loss Retired numbers * #1 — Bob Perani * #5 — Stephan Brochu * #16 — Doug Manchak * #20 — Kevin Kerr * #77 — Brett MacDonald References External links * Flint Generals official site Category:Defunct Teams Category:American ice hockey teams Category:International Hockey League (2007–2010) teams Category:Disestablished in 2010 Category:Established in 1993